Bangkok: Disappointing news about Germany's economy sent world stock markets down on February 15 as investors turned their attention to a major economic conference this weekend. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 per cent to 6,318.14. Germany's DAX lost 0.3 per cent to 7,607.49 and France's CAC-40 shed less than 0.1 per cent to 3,668.30.
Wall Street also appeared headed for a day of losses, with Dow Jones industrial futures falling 0.2 per cent to 13,926. S&P 500 futures lost 0.2 per cent to 1,515.10.
Those drops came a day after Germany said its economy contracted a worse-than-expected 0.6 per cent in the last quarter of 2012 as recession deepened across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. It was Germany's worst performance since early 2009, amid a global recession.
The worry for European policymakers is that output is declining beyond weaker, debt-laden economies like Greece and Spain. France, Europe's second-biggest economy, also suffered a drop in output.
"A number of analysts have been making the case for quite some time now that the worst in Europe is probably behind us. However the steepness of the contractions ... appears to have given markets pause," said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets in an email commentary.
Finance ministers from 20 of the world's leading economies are meeting in Moscow this weekend to take up a host of issues, including concerns about a possible currency war.
Japan's new government has voiced a desire for a lower yen as a way to boost exports and its weak economy. But there are fears that more countries will seek to manipulate their currencies to gain trade advantages.
The slowdown in Europe was gloomy news for Asian countries, which depend on exports to the region to help drive their economies. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.2 per cent to close at 11,173.83. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1 per cent to 23,444.56. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1 per cent
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